Valid only Monday through Fridays, the new Florida Resident Weekday Select Pass entitles the owner admission to all four theme parks for a year with occasional blockout periods. So far, these periods include: December 19, 2009 – January 1, 2010; March 27, 2010 – April 9, 2010; June 12, 2010 – August 19, 2010; and December 18, 2010 – January 1, 2011). The pass also entitles the owner to some Annual Passholder benefits such as a subscription to the Mickey Monitor newsletter and occasional special offers and discounts.

Yesterday, we reported on an upcoming ad campaign for the new ABC series ‘V.’ The campaign, which involves skywriting over the landmarks in several U.S. cities, has caught the angry eye of some environmental watchdogs-slash-tv critics such as Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post. In her column today, de Moraes looks at some of the environmental cost of the new campaign, admitting it’s not the end of the world, but definitely calling out The Walt Disney Company as being somewhat hypocritical.

It’s also been barely a month since the environmental activist group Friends of the Earth issued a report card of major cruise lines, ranking Disney Cruise Line last, which you can read more about here.

NEW YORK – October 18, 2009—Disney Consumer Products (DCP) and renowned couture designer Kirstie Kelly are launching an exquisite gown inspired by Princess Tiana, Disney’s newest princess in more than ten years and the first African American Disney Princess character from the highly anticipated animated musical film, The Princess and the Frog. The Tiana gown will take its place in the phenomenally successful Kirstie Kelly for Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings line as the signature piece of an all new collection of bridal gowns. The new collection also includes the Snow White Diamond Edition gown, all new “Maidens” for bridesmaids, “Blossoms” for flower girls and a new line of fine jewelry with renowned jeweler Mouawad, each inspired by a Disney Princess character.

Via its new blog, Walt Disney World has announced that it is participating in a pilot program to enter US $1 coins into circulation from retail and dining locations in Epcot’s American Adventure and Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Square.

Quoting it as a move towards the Disney-coined environmentality iniative, the coins will be distributed in lieu of ‘paper’ dollar bills as change.

Weighing 153 pounds, Bolo was born Oct. 12 to second-time mother Big Girl, who first birthed a female calf in November 2005. On Oct. 5, the Disney’s Animal Programs team helped to deliver 166-pound calf Bruehler from third-time mother Aibuni. As newborns, both male calves stand nearly six feet tall and could grow to be as tall as 15 – 18 feet as adults.

“V” – PREMIERES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) — “V” is a re-imagining of the 1980s’ miniseries about the world’s first encounter with an alien race. With huge spaceships simultaneously appearing over 29 cities around the world, the Visitors (or V’s) seem to promote a message of peace. Through their generous offer to share advanced technology, the V’s quickly build a following that may be overlooking a more malevolent agenda.

A thrilling original movie ushers in an exciting original series with the premiere of the science-fiction adventure “Skyrunners” and the special full episode preview of the live action sitcom “I’m in the Band,” FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27 on Disney XD. The premiere of “Skyrunners” will be sponsored by Ubisoft’s Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage game and formatted exclusively for the client, with limited programming breaks. The preview of “I’m in the Band” will be sponsored by Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Goldfish crackers. “I’m in the Band” will have its regular timeslot premiere in January, 2010.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 — One of the most adventurous characters in children’s literature, Flat Stanley, traveled to the prestigious Library of Congress today where he, along with the first three books in Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures series, were inducted into the Library to help Adventures by Disney and HarperCollins Children’s Books celebrate an exciting new project called “The Search for Flat Stanley’s Next BIG Adventure.”

Due to his peculiar ability to be mailed to different locations, Stanley is the most well-traveled character in children’s literature, traveling around the world thousands of times annually in an educational project that has become a classic of the American classroom. Now budding writers and artists are invited to create their own Flat Stanley story in “The Search for Flat Stanley’s Next BIG Adventure.” In this nationwide contest, children ages 7 to 12 can win an Adventures by Disney vacation by creating a specially themed Flat Stanley and a 150-word story about his “Next BIG Adventure.”

Entries will be judged in three age groups – one for 7 to 8-year-olds, one for 9 to 10-year-olds and one for 11 to 12-year-olds. One winner will be chosen in each age group and each of the three winners can choose one of Adventures by Disney’s 19 worldwide vacations for their prize.

Parents, kids and educators can check out www.FlatStanleyBooks.com/AdventuresbyDisney for Official Rules and complete information on the Contest; fun, interactive games; and fascinating informational resources. The Contest runs through November 30, 2009 and no purchase is necessary to enter or win.

The big PhotoPass news keeps on coming and this one is sure to disappoint even more people than the last item we reported about the extension fees.

A Stitch Kingdom reader has made us aware that the link to pre-order PhotoPass is no longer working. Sure enough, the page now automatically gets re-directed to this page which specifically affirms the already established policy that the offer is meant solely for those who are invited to participate by email.

Not too long ago, we showed you how the original computer graphics (CG) models from the actual films helped produce the Toy Story Definitive Collection from Thinkway Toys. Today, we’re going to take a look at the same type of technology being used for an entirely different purpose: bringing Pixie Hollow to life at the 2009 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.